I have what is known as a "recipe addiction". Not just a cookbook addiction (because I own way to many of those), but also a food blog addiction (there are so many good ones to follow), a food tv show addiction (PBS, Food Network, Travel Channel etc.) and a magazine addiction. And by magazine addiction I don't just mean food magazines...because even magazines like House Beautiful and People tend to include recipes in their editions these days.
Not only do I have a stack of food magazines in the living room, not only do I have several bookshelves filled with food magazines, not only do I have boxes filled with entire issues of Gourmet and Bon Appetit in my garage, I also have several containers full of recipes that were torn out or cut out of magazines be they from TV Guide, Gourmet, Martha Stewart Living, Family Circle, Redbook, Vogue...you name it, if it was a recipe in a magazine that I bought or subscribed too, that recipe was pulled out and set aside to "someday" end up on my dining table. The scary thing is that I had a good 15-20 years worth of these cut out and pulled out pages that I threw away about 8 years ago, several boxes worth that just went in the garbage. Because...well...I hadn't started to actually cook back then. But now I do cook. So the collecting of the magazine recipes continues.
Technically, I've never met a recipe I wouldn't collect no matter what form it was presented in.
I can tell that some of you are horrified...I can also tell that a few of you are looking sheepishly at the computer screen thinking "thank the Lord, I'm not the only one!". Yes, you like me, may have a recipe addiction. But as long as we are actually cooking some of these recipes, I feel that hope for us is not lost.
Which leads me to this month. You'll notice I steered away from trying to cook my way through my cookbook collection to actually pulling out and cooking some of the recipes that have been bookmarked from current and not so current magazine sources. Some I found in recent issues of cooking magazines that seem to be piled up or stacked everywhere. Other recipes came from pages that were pulled from various magazines and live in containers full of other recipes. There are recipes I'm not even sure came from my sources, they could have come from that box of her recipes my mother had me go through last year (see, it's not my fault, it's an inherited trait!).
In any event, March has slowly become March Magazine Madness where I try to make a dent in all those magazine recipes I've been meaning to try. Of course technically that's like a drop of water in an ocean, but at least Mr. L can't complain that I never cook from all those magazines and recipes I have lying around. Which means that old "if you haven't used it in a year throw it away" adage doesn't apply. I am using these magazine recipes. Let March Magazine Madness continue....
Woah, that's hardcore!
As for online recipes, I copy-paste the recipes and the link, then email them to myself. My Recipe email folder is categorized by regions with desserts and drinks in their own folder.
I agree that that recipes are one of a very short list of things one doesn't need to feel compelled to throw out if they haven't been used in a year.
Posted by: Cassaendra | March 26, 2011 at 11:23 AM
My mother collected recipes, and I started collecting over 50 years ago. So Mrs. L gets it from family. Several years ago I had to move and rent a room instead of an apartment. I half filled the trash bin with my magazines I had been saving for recipes. I cried and I am sure if Mrs. L had to get rid of hers so would she.
Posted by: Mom | March 27, 2011 at 09:20 AM
I started with magazine recipes, then I printed online recipes for a while, now I just bookmark. So now I have to look three places to find a recipe I remember. lol So glad to hear you're having fun using your magazines!
Posted by: Barbara Bakes | March 28, 2011 at 08:59 AM
I miss Gourmet. It was really THE cooking magazine. I quite like Cooks Illustrated though. Its a good read as well as a recipe mag.
Posted by: Associate Girl | March 30, 2011 at 05:51 AM
Love your line that you've never met a recipe you wouldn't collect ....
Posted by: Livin Local | April 03, 2011 at 04:41 PM
Cassaendra - I actually have an Excel spreadsheet (divided into sheets like "meat", "desserts" etc) where I keep all the recipes from blogs I want to try. Well, I have three excel spreadsheets...starting in 2009 I do one for every year, yes I have that many bookmarked!
Mom - I did cry when I had to toss those recipes!
Barbara Bakes - I used to print out tons of blogger recipes before realizing it was just too much.
Associate Girl - I probably have at least 20 or so years of Gourmet in storage. I know I can buy a CD with all of the issues on it, but it's just not the same as having a magazine to hold.
Livin local - Well, with all the cookbooks, magazines and excelled blog recipes...I honestly don't pass them up :)
Posted by: Mrs. L | April 06, 2011 at 02:38 PM